Advance Praise for A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams
“The timing of this book is incredibly serendipitous, as Save the Children is making strategic changes that will rely even more on virtual teams. The book spoke to me, as it aligned with my own experience, and has become a must-read for our senior management team.”
—Justin Birtwell, Director,
Global Learning & Development, Save the Children
“Yael has a talent for simplifying and communicating the essentials for both managers and peers in a virtual team environment. Her chapter on the importance of both nonverbal and contextual communication is critical reading for anyone who works with anyone else that is more than five meters away. Read this book and share with your team openly—but only if you want to have a well oiled virtual team.”
—Jason Madhosingh, Director,
Online and Mobile, American Express
“Virtual teams are increasingly important in today’s global economy. In A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams Yael Zofi provides great commonsense advice on leading virtual teams. This book is a must-read for anyone who leads—or participates in—geographically dispersed teams.”
—Bud Bilanich, The Common Sense Guy;
author of Common Sense Ideas for Building a Dream Team
“This is a ‘cookbook’ for successfully running a virtual team. Zofi has clearly documented the most common problems I come across, and offeres pragmatic, step-by-step solutions for dealing with them. Today alone I have lived three examples from the book, and it’s only 2:00 p.m. One problem dealt with remote trust and accountability; one dealt with project deliverables; and the third was a cross-cultural issue with my team in Europe, Asia, and the U.S.”
—Charles J. Rothschild, Manager, World-Wide System Architecture,
CommTest Solutions Division, JDSU
“In her new book, A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams, Yael Zofi provides a language for understanding the dynamics of virtual teams and gives insights that demystify the complexities of working across boundaries. Zofi provides practical, workable recommendations that cut through the complexity and make a difference right away. She gives the reader a set of quick, realistic, and sensible solutions to make the hours spent working in virtual teams more productive and more enjoyable.
—Chris Lubrano, International HR, MetLife
“A comprehensive and well-written book that provides practical insights into one of the most important topics in the modern virtual business environment.”
—Dr. Amos Baranes, Ph.D., CPA, CEO Learning by Simulation;
Associate Professor, Sapir College, Jerusalem
“The LEARN acronym for improving daily interactions is outstanding! The cross-cultural communication technique is extremely helpful when addressing the challenges of managing a virtual team. Overall, the commonsense approach that Ms. Zofi applies seems very simplistic yet extremely effective when not only addressing how to handle the virtual environment but also how to handle individual work styles.”
—Kent E. Blackmon, PMP, SSBB, Manager,
Business Process Improvement, Coca-Cola Refreshments
“As a consultant operating in a highly global and virtual work environment, Zofi’s use of tactical examples, best practices, and insights make A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams an invaluable resource for enabling more effective virtual teaming. Through analysis of several case studies, Zofi also ties together the many complex facets of virtual teams—including cross-cultural, technological, and relationship building—making the book very relatable and one which will resonate with anyone who has seen the challenges of working in or managing a virtual team.”
—Whitney Cook, Human Capital Management Consultant,
Deloitte Consulting
“Living in Hawaii and working for a mainland company with primarily East Coast customers, and family for that matter, I consider most of my communication to fit within the realm of virtual team communications. That said, I have always considered communication with virtual teams one of my strengths. Reading this book reminded me of the importance of the communication strategies I use today and gave me insight into new tools and strategies to keep my team healthy, happy, and productive. I just want everyone I interact with, personally and professionally, to read this book too!”
—Jack Germany, Team Lead,
Interface Services, Healthcare Information Systems
“If you are a virtual team member, leader, or otherwise, this book is a fast-track learning experience on how to do it right the first time. Enriched with pertinent examples … it’s a must-read book. I have it several times over.”
—Hussain Tawawalla, Founding Partner and Director,
Development, Enterprise for Business & Development
Management (EBDM), Peshawar, Pakistan
“Often, many of the virtual teams that I have coached at AMEX, Nielsen, and Covidien have learned through trial and error what worked and what didn’t. A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams is an invaluable resource in improving all aspects of the virtual team environment. Especially insightful are the suggestions on building accountability and trust. In fast-paced business environments, having a comprehensive resource to help teams become aware of how their own accountability will contribute to an environment of mutual trust is essential.”
—Holly O’Grady, Holly O’Grady Consulting,
Learning Strategies & Talent Development